WHEN Kevin Keegan quit Tyneside in September after a long-standing power struggle at St James’s Park, it left the Toon Army shattered.

Quite how a dream of Keegan’s third coming, and talk about unfinished business, turned into such a nightmare scenario was off the scale, even by the high standards of Newcastle United.

But while many felt that KK was pushed over the edge, Cole knew Keegan would always follow his heart.

Fans need no reminding that their former manager’s unique style saw him plead with the fans for patience on the Milburn Stand steps after Cole’s transfer to Man United.

Yet while Keegan’s decision to leave the club just months into a three-year contract in September stunned the world of football, Cole said: “It was massive news all over the world when he went, but I wasn’t too surprised that KK left.

“He’s his own man and fair play to him – he does what he thinks is right. Basically, he takes no prisoners and wears his heart on his sleeve.

“He will always do what he thinks is right and nobody can change that.”

Keegan plucked former Arsenal trainee Cole from obscurity at Bristol City and transformed him into a world star. Rob Lee, Barry Venison, John Beresford and Scott Sellars all saw their careers transformed under KK, while his powers of persuasion also convinced stars like David Ginola, Peter Beardsley, Les Ferdinand and Tino Asprilla that Tyneside was very much the place to come to in the 1990s.

Looking back on Keegan’s record in the transfer market, it’s no surprise fans were enraged that Keegan did not have the same power to manoeuvre with new players like the first time around.

Cole says he will always be grateful for Keegan’s guidance during his early years in the game at Newcastle.

Keegan actually requested a private plane in jest to Douglas Hall to be able to go and scout Cole at Bristol City just hours before a game at Ashton Gate. His request was granted and on the back of a visit to the West Country, KK was convinced Cole was the man to lead the line for Newcastle United.

Cole said: “Kevin was just brilliant with me.

“Kevin was a centre-forward just like me and it was a joy to train with him every day. I learned so much from him.

“I was also playing with players like Peter Beardsley, whom I had only watched on TV before, so it was one of the best experiences I’ve had.

“Even training was a joy under Kevin because we trained the way we played.

“We got promoted and then we became the Entertainers. And there was never a better title for us because boy did we entertain!

“There were games when we conceded a few, but we always had the idea of outscoring the opposition. I can’t remember many games when we didn’t score goals, no matter what the result.”

Page 2: Living in goldfish bowl got to me

Living in goldfish bowl got to me

YOU wouldn’t think it to look at his phenomenal goalscoring record – but Andy Cole once allowed life at Newcastle United to get on top of him to the extent that he almost quit St James’s Park.

Long before his big-money move to Old Trafford, Cole went AWOL at Newcastle and missed a League Cup tie against Wimbledon and a certain Joe Kinnear.

However, after a well-publicised spat with Kevin Keegan, Cole was soon back on Tyneside and banging in the goals on his way to a whopping total of 41 in his first full season in the top flight.

Infamously, Jermaine Jenas quit United years later due to the close proximity of United supporters in the city and the 24/7 nature of football talk on Tyneside.

Cole admits it can be hard for young players plying their trade at St James’s Park.

He said: “At the end of the day I was just a normal boy who came up from the south.

“I had been at Arsenal and then Bristol City, but for me Newcastle was a goldfish bowl.

“Being young, I found it difficult to handle.

“I wanted to do very well for the team, but the city breathes football and that is the only thing people want to talk about, which is fine.

“But it’s a shock when you aren’t used to it.

“In most places people want to chill after football but Newcastle was special and that’s just the way the Geordies are.”

However, after a testing 2008 Cole hopes that the news of Mike Ashley taking the club off the market can be the start of better days ahead for everybody on Tyneside.

He said: “It’s been very difficult for them but I have no doubts it will get turned around.

“The club is too big not to, and the public demands it.

“Even if they had got a new owner or somebody in to straighten it out, it will change in time.”

Page 3: Toon fans played a huge part in our climb to top

Toon fans played a huge part in our climb to top

ANDY COLE has expressed his sadness at the current state of Newcastle United.

But while many fans will never forgive the former no 9 for joining Manchester United in a £7m deal in 1995, the goalscorer extraordinaire says he will never be out of the Toon Army’s debt for putting him on the football map.

And after netting 55 goals in 70 games for Newcastle, helping to win promotion to the top flight in 1993 and then firing the club into Europe for the first time in decades a year later, the retired striker says he can only look back on his time on Tyneside with fondness.

Cole, who grabbed 41 goals in 41 games in the 93/94 campaign under Kevin Keegan, broke hearts when he joined Man United.

But in an emotional interview he told the Chronicle: “The Toon Army were brilliant then and they still are now.

“Regardless of what people have said about me since, I had a brilliant time at Newcastle.

“And I’ll never forget my time at the club – the fans were always first class with me.”

Indeed, Cole’s contributions to the side were legendary after Keegan made him a late-season signing from Bristol City for £1.75m and he responded with 12 goals in his first 12 games.

But nobody could have predicted just what an impact he would make in the Premier League as Newcastle tasted the revamped top flight for the first time in 1993.

These days, promoted teams usually struggle to get to grips with the higher level and are often playing back in the Championship within 12 months.

However, once KK had declared: “The sky’s the limit,” Newcastle’s young stars like Cole and Lee Clark stood up and took notice.

And, along with flair players such as Rob Lee, Scott Sellars and Peter Beardsley, they took the Premier League by storm, finishing third, with Cole netting 34 top-flight goals.

Cole says that Toon fans played a massive part in that achievement.

He said: “To get into the top three with Newcastle was amazing.

“It doesn’t happen these days, and I don’t think it will again to a team that has just been promoted, but that is down to money in the game.

“At that time, though, we had the right blend of players and it all went right.

“We got the right results, but we had those fans right behind us. They are the best fans because they are the most passionate.

“There is not one individual player who gets out of bed and says, ‘I want to play badly’, so it’s not very nice to have a crowd on your back.

“That didn’t happen in my time there. They get right behind you, they are boisterous and it’s great to play in front of them.

“I’ve gone on record before and said they are unique and I think it will always be the case in Newcastle.”